Soccer betting ban
TOUGH new rules introduced by the Football Association will outlaw all football-related betting for players, club employees and match officials in the top eight tiers of the English game.
The draconian new rules mean betting on any match, be it domestic or anywhere in the world, will be prohibited from the start of the 2014-15 season.
Betting on off-field developments such as managerial sackings and player transfers will also be banned.
The crackdown applies to bets made in person, online, on the telephone or through a friend or any third party, the FA states on its website.
Previously, only betting on a match or competition in which an individual was involved, or could influ- ence, was prohibited. That restriction will be retained for minor league clubs.
Earlier this year, the FA’s general secretary, Alex Horne, said match-fixing and spot-fixing were “not big issues” in the English game despite several arrests as part of a National Crime Agency investigation.
However, with massive rise in online betting sites, allowing punters to bet on a huge range of match-related markets, and a steady stream of matchfixing cases from around the world, the FA is tightening its net.
It has even turned to former Italian player and now Aston Villa academy coach Simone Farina to help get the message over. Farina played a key role in 2011 stopping a match-fixing attempt while playing for Serie B club Gubbio, his evidence leading to the arrest of 17 people.
“Footballers need to be strong and say no to match-fixing,” Farina, who went to the Italian police after being offered ß200 000 (about R2.7-million) to throw a match, said in a video on the FA’s website. “The FA are working hard to educate children, footballers, coaches and referees. It’s everybody’s responsibility to play fair.”
Several arrests and prosecutions for match-fixing occurred in English semi-professional football last season.
England and Tottenham Hotspur winger Andros Townsend was also banned for four months, three of them suspended, after betting on televised matches while on loan the previous season. – Reuters